Unemployment ticks up

Heaven Colon, customer service representative, top, helps John Jeffery applies for a job Monday. "I was a fabricator for 30 years. At this point, there's not a whole lot going on in my profession in Ocala," Jeffery said. About 25 people worked to find jobs in the resource room at Workforce Connection in Ocala, FL, Monday morning, March 18, 2013.

Published: Monday, March 18, 2013 at 4:26 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 18, 2013 at 4:26 p.m.

The spike was up from 8.9 percent in December but still well below January 2012's 11.1 percent, according to data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity on Monday.

There were nearly 3,000 more people working in January than in January 2012.

January's unemployment rate could have been worse. Marion County's labor force was 132,784, down from December's 133,423. Had January's labor force size remained the same as December's, Marion County's unemployment rate could have been as high as 9.5 percent.

Bob Walther, president of Wal-Staf Personnel Services, with offices in Ocala, Gainesville and Lake City, said the January unemployment hike could be the result of holiday job closings.

In most likelihood, people who worked only during the holiday months probably pulled themselves out of the labor force statistics as soon as the holidays ended.

Walther said the actual January unemployment rate probably was no different than December's: 8.9 percent.

"I don't think it's changed much," Walther said. "(But) 3,000 more jobs (between January 2012 and January 2013) is not a whole lot for a county. The problem is (the recovery) is slow and so painful."

Meanwhile, Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in January, the lowest since November 2008 when it was also 7.8 percent.

The January rate was down slightly from the revised December rate of 7.9 percent and was 1.4 percentage points lower than the January 2012 rate of 9.2 percent.

Levy County saw its January unemployment rate rise to 9.0 percent, up from December's 8.7 percent. That county's January 2012 unemployment rate was 10.3 percent.

February's unemployment data will be released March 29.

Rusty Skinner is CEO for Workforce Connection, which serves Marion, Levy and Citrus counties. He said the slight uptick in unemployment was not alarming and agreed it was attributable to the end of holiday hirings.

Fifty-one of Florida's 67 counties posted an increase in jobless rates, 11 remained unchanged, and five dropped, he pointed out.

"We'll know more when the February numbers come out next week," he said.

"We (Marion, Citrus and Levy counties combined) are down almost 2 percent from where we were last year, and we have had a number of recent announcements showing major economic development efforts, and that's very positive," Skinner said.

But Walther warned that there probably won't be any significant unemployment improvements anytime soon.

"We look every which way we can to try and find good news. We find it in one report and another couple of months later you lose it again," Walther said. "The best we can hope for is that we see continued small growth."

Marion County ranked 14th highest among Florida counties for unemployment rates. Hendry County had the highest January unemployment rate: 11.4 percent. Monroe County had the lowest unemployment with 4.6 percent.

<p>Marion County's unemployment rate worsened during January, climbing to 9.1 percent.</p><p>The spike was up from 8.9 percent in December but still well below January 2012's 11.1 percent, according to data released by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity on Monday.</p><p>There were nearly 3,000 more people working in January than in January 2012.</p><p>January's unemployment rate could have been worse. Marion County's labor force was 132,784, down from December's 133,423. Had January's labor force size remained the same as December's, Marion County's unemployment rate could have been as high as 9.5 percent.</p><p>Bob Walther, president of Wal-Staf Personnel Services, with offices in Ocala, Gainesville and Lake City, said the January unemployment hike could be the result of holiday job closings.</p><p>In most likelihood, people who worked only during the holiday months probably pulled themselves out of the labor force statistics as soon as the holidays ended.</p><p>Walther said the actual January unemployment rate probably was no different than December's: 8.9 percent.</p><p>"I don't think it's changed much," Walther said. "(But) 3,000 more jobs (between January 2012 and January 2013) is not a whole lot for a county. The problem is (the recovery) is slow and so painful."</p><p>Meanwhile, Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.8 percent in January, the lowest since November 2008 when it was also 7.8 percent.</p><p>The January rate was down slightly from the revised December rate of 7.9 percent and was 1.4 percentage points lower than the January 2012 rate of 9.2 percent.</p><p>Some of Marion County's neighboring counties fared worse. Citrus County' January unemployment rose to 9.3 percent, up from December's 8.9 percent. January 2012's unemployment rate was 10.9 percent.</p><p>Levy County saw its January unemployment rate rise to 9.0 percent, up from December's 8.7 percent. That county's January 2012 unemployment rate was 10.3 percent.</p><p>February's unemployment data will be released March 29.</p><p>Rusty Skinner is CEO for Workforce Connection, which serves Marion, Levy and Citrus counties. He said the slight uptick in unemployment was not alarming and agreed it was attributable to the end of holiday hirings.</p><p>Fifty-one of Florida's 67 counties posted an increase in jobless rates, 11 remained unchanged, and five dropped, he pointed out.</p><p>"We'll know more when the February numbers come out next week," he said.</p><p>"We (Marion, Citrus and Levy counties combined) are down almost 2 percent from where we were last year, and we have had a number of recent announcements showing major economic development efforts, and that's very positive," Skinner said.</p><p>But Walther warned that there probably won't be any significant unemployment improvements anytime soon.</p><p>"We look every which way we can to try and find good news. We find it in one report and another couple of months later you lose it again," Walther said. "The best we can hope for is that we see continued small growth."</p><p>Marion County ranked 14th highest among Florida counties for unemployment rates. Hendry County had the highest January unemployment rate: 11.4 percent. Monroe County had the lowest unemployment with 4.6 percent.</p><p>The national January unemployment level was 7.9 percent.</p><p>Contact Fred Hiers at 867-4157 or fred.hiers@starbanner.com.</p>